Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were employed by her Department at the rank of Chief Immigration Officer at the end of the 2015-16 financial year.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Border Force had 760 BFOs at grade CIO as of FY 2015/16.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June to Question 57910 on Legal Aid Scheme, how much the Legal Aid Agency paid in fees to Duncan Lewis LLP in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23, (c) 2023-24, and (d) 2024-25 related to immigration and asylum cases.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The requested information can be found in the table below. Information filterable by financial year, legal aid provider, and type of legal aid can be viewed on the Provider explorer dashboard of the Legal aid provider completions and starts statistics data visualisation tool.

Duncan Lewis is the largest Legal Aid provider in the UK, currently operating across 29 offices.

Legal aid is only available in respect of immigration cases which are within the scope of legal aid as set out under Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Legal Aid and Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and is subject to both financial eligibility and merits tests.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service section 7 reports recommend shared care; and what training is given to officers of that service on (a) parental alienation and (b) equal parenting.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Cafcass does not record data on the proportion of section 7 reports that recommend shared care. This information is not recorded centrally, and the data would only be available from individual case file review at a disproportionate cost.

The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” syndrome and does not think it is capable of diagnosis. Cafcass practitioners receive mandatory training on alienating behaviours. Cafcass’ training programme includes training on the domestic abuse practice policy (introduced in 2024) and on indicators of understanding why a child does not want to spend family time with a parent guide. This training makes it clear that the first step in assessing the reasons for a child not wanting to see a parent is to consider whether domestic abuse is a factor and to explore the pattern of behaviours through a trauma-informed lens.

Cafcass’ Practice Quality Standards prioritise the safety of the child and require practitioners to assess the risks to children and the risk of future harm. They require practitioners to make certain that their recommendations regarding with whom the child spends time or lives with flow directly from a detailed assessment and analysis of the nature of any risks to the child posed by one or both parents.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time is for first hearings in private family law cases.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The average waiting time for first hearings in private family law cases is nine weeks, as at Q2 2025 (April to June 2025). This is an improvement of one week when compared to the end of Q1 2025 (January to March 2025) and a two-week reduction when compared to 2022.

Only cases with a recorded proceeded hearing are included in the calculation (receipt to hearing). 'Proceeded' cases are those where the hearing was not vacated, and the case had not closed before the hearing was due.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of Child Arrangement Orders were (a) shared care and (b) sole residency since 2019.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The requested information is not recorded centrally. The relevant data could only be obtained by an analysis of individual case files at disproportionate cost.

The welfare of the child is paramount in any decision regarding child arrangements. In determining the child’s welfare needs, the court will apply the factors set out in the ‘welfare checklist’ in the Children Act 1989. These include the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned, the impact on the child of any change in circumstances, and how capable each parent is of meeting the child’s needs. The court will also consider any harm the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering, which could include any harm from witnessing domestic abuse.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Child Maintenance Service has received in collection fees from (a) paying and (b) receiving parents in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The table below shows collection fees received in each of the last five years, for which audited figures are available.

Found: Cleverly (Conservative; Braintree) Dr Caroline Johnson (Conservative; Sleaford and North Hykeham) Amanda Martin

Found: Means (Ms Nusrat Ghani) (Chair) The Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means (Caroline Nokes) Amanda Martin

Found: Cleverly (Conservative; Braintree) Dr Caroline Johnson (Conservative; Sleaford and North Hykeham) Amanda Martin

Found: Cleverly (Conservative; Braintree) Dr Caroline Johnson (Conservative; Sleaford and North Hykeham) Amanda Martin

Found: Cleverly (Conservative; Braintree) Dr Caroline Johnson (Conservative; Sleaford and North Hykeham) Amanda Martin